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Why Jewish Kids Need Values-Based Sex Ed

By on June 17, 2015
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The school nurse at a local Jewish day school called me recently to do a “special workshop” on sexuality because there was “a situation in the high school” and one of the girls was afraid she might be pregnant. While I agreed to go, this incident reflects another tendency in our community: to educate when it’s already too late.

Sexuality education is one of the most fundamental areas of knowledge that young people need to have; it forms a basis for their entire lives. It is a poor excuse when our schools claim not to have the time–or worse, the inclination–for “special topics” like sex-ed, because Jewish day schools provide an ideal forum for discussion sexual ethics within a Jewish framework, as well as providing the content and consequences that students need to know.

Our schools have a unique opportunity to educate and inform our youth. We should not pass it up. It will make a world of difference to our health of our community.

Itching for more of JLove and Values’ Mara Yacobi? Check out a recent interview on the Ma’yan Blog here.

Works Cited:
“Comprehensive Health Education in American Public Schools.” New York Metropolitan Life Foundation, New York, 1993.

 

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Mara Yacobi is a Certified Sexuality Educator, Licensed Social Worker and Founder of JLove and Values. Mara lives in New Jersey with her family and dreams of becoming a talk show host and finding more hours in the day.
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